Spike Lee demonstrates his filmmaking prowess in his 1989 film Do the Right Thing. As with most of Lee's work, race relations are central to the story. With Do the Right Thing, Lee presents a bleak view of the nature and future of cross-cultural relationships in urban America. Mookie (played by Spike Lee) is a twenty-something African-American pizza delivery man. He works for Sal's Pizzeria, an establishment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, which is a predominantly black neighborhood. Mookie and Sal, despite their differences, reveal a remarkably similar worldview as the film progresses, and especially in their inability to resolve the racial tension that emerges in the film. Mookie and Sal develop a decent professional relationship, yet both retain lingering feelings of resentment toward the "other." Spike Lee does a remarkable job portraying mutual feelings of "otherness" in Do the Right Thing. The writer/director/actor shows that racism exists on both sides of the fence.
Significant symbols accompany Lee's themes. The "Wall of Fame" is more than just a wall full of pictures. As a poor representative of Sal's patrons, the wall symbolizes the barrier between cultures depicted in Do the Right Thing, especially between blacks and Italian-Americans. The wall, to Buggin' Out, represents racism; it is a physical reminder of segregation and bigotry. Sal's refusal to acknowledge Buggin' Out's feelings as valid is a source of much of the ensuing violence.
Pino exhibits an extreme version of his father's more subtle racism. Pino's resentment of the African-American community fuels the violent climax of the film; like Sal's wall, he won't budge. Thus, the wall between the Italian-American (white) community and the African-American (black) community grows stronger. The only...
Sal explodes, calling Radio Raheem a "nigger." This sudden eruption causes the floodgates of hatred to open, leading to
death and destruction.
Moderation is embodied by Pino's brother Vito, who appears to be the least affected by the scourge of racism. Within each
family and each
culture is a stream of moderation, tolerance, and
compassion. Unfortunately, his voice is the last to be heard; the
politics of pride and segregation dominate most of the characters in Lee's film. In a diverse society like Bedford-Stuyvesant, it seems completely unproductive to hold on to rigid misconceptions about the "other."
The same situation can be seen in the macrocosm of the real world. India and Pakistan are often at the brink of a
nuclear war. Both nations possess the materials and the gumption to end their cross-cultural crisis in violence, just as Moochie and the other characters in Do the Right Thing did. An article on the Women Waging Peace website depicts a more optimistic view of the India-Pakistan
conflict. Rita Manchanda "challenges years of institutional partition," a partition even greater than…
